The Louisiana Department of Education has ordered a former New Orleans charter school to return more than $270,000 in public funds that a recent audit suggested might have been improperly spent after the school was set to close, according to a letter sent to the school this week.
But the CEO of Noble Minds Institute, which later reopened as a private school, maintains that the spending was above board and said she will fight the repayment demand.
“We’re not in agreement that we had any expenses that were not allowable,” said Vera Triplett, who opened the charter school in 2017 and now runs the private school. “We look forward to defending our position vigorously.”…